Gay Emeryville City Councilmember John Bauters is poised to break through an East Bay political pink glass ceiling, as he's leading for a seat on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. If successful, his opponent will likely become acting mayor of Oakland after voters are poised to recall Sheng Thao.
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Pride was also recalled by voters Tuesday, according to early returns.
Bauters, running in District 5, would be the first LGBTQ person to serve on the Alameda County board. Previous candidates had fallen short, meaning one of the most diverse counties in the state had no LGBTQ representation on its Board of Supervisors. The District 5 seat became open when outgoing Supervisor Keith Carson opted not to seek reelection. Carson endorsed Bauters, as did Equality California, the statewide LGBTQ rights organization.
Preliminary returns from the Alameda County Registrar of Voters had Bauters in first place with 51.48% of the vote as of November 11. His opponent, Oakland City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas, had 48.10%. The results so far are the opposite of the March 5 primary, when Bas led Bauters by about 13 points.
Bauters had no comment when reached last Wednesday morning. There are still potentially 100,000 ballots to count in the supervisor race, he noted.
In the recall of Thao, early returns showed 61.59% voting to remove her from office while 38.41% were opposed. Those numbers are expected to hold up, meaning that Bas, if she loses the supervisor race would, as council president, become acting mayor until a special election is held.
Thao conceded November 8.
"I am deeply proud of the progress we created together and I am committed to ensuring we stay on track by supporting a smooth transition," she stated. "It isn't about me. It never has been. It has always been about Oakland. And the changes we have enacted in these two short years will be felt for generations to come."
Thao, elected in 2022, faced a formidable task to beat back the recall. Many residents blamed her for an increase in crime. She was also criticized for firing popular police chief LaRonne Armstrong following an outside investigation that found he had mishandled two officer misconduct cases. (Armstrong ran for the at-large seat on the City Council but was trailing in early returns.) Her office missed an opportunity for a state retail theft grant that voters were also critical of.
Thao did not respond to a request for comment.
DA race
Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price was also removed from office. Elected in 2022 as a progressive prosecutor, county residents became fed up with some of her policies, as did crime victims.
Returns as of November 11 showed voters backing the recall 63.99% to 36.01%. With the result expected to be certified, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors will need to select a replacement for Price until a special election is held.
Price did not respond to a request for comment.
Updated 11/11/24" This article was updated with Mayor Thao's concession and newer election numbers from the registrar of voters office.
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